The first substantive reduction of US troops in Iraq has begun, as
the first members of a brigade from Diyala Province have started to
leave. Col. David Sutherland of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, whose soldiers have been working in Diyala since November
2006, says all 5,000 of his troops would be gone by mid-December. But
because of continuing violence in Diyala, another brigade in the country
will take the place of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

The replacement soldiers in late November were in Diyala taking
over their new jobs. The replacement brigade, which had worked in
Salahuddin Province to the north and west of Diyala, will leave quieter
areas to the Iraqi Army and local citizen groups.

Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, spokesman for the US forces in Baghdad,
on Nov. 24 said: "There is a 5,000 troop net decrease in theater.
The redeployment without replacement reflects the overall improved
security situation in Iraq". When this initial reduction is
completed, the number of US troops will drop to about 157,000 from
162,000 in June, when the force in Iraq was at its peak. The top US
commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, has said there will not be
another troop increase and has pledged to bring home a total of five
brigades by July 2008.

The military began increasing troops in Baghdad and surrounding
areas last February to stop the cycle of violence in the capital. By
June, an additional five brigades had been added to the roughly 130,000
troops already in Iraq.

US Hiring 10,000 Iraqi Neighbourhood Guards: The US military is to
add about 10,000 people to its roster of unofficial security guards who
act as paid neighbourhood watchdogs and will then cap the programme. The
guards were hired by the tens of thousands earlier this year, when US
forces offered tribal shaikhs money in exchange for tips about
Neo-Salafi terrorist and other criminal activities. About 77,000 people
- alternately called volunteers, concerned local citizens (CLCs), or
members of awakening councils - have joined, the vast majority of them
Sunnis.

The programme has been credited with helping to sharply drive down
violence nationwide, but also has stirred concerns among Shi'ites
that the Sunnis would use the money and training to reform militias.
About 60,000 of the guards are paid $300 a month, while the rest are
still in the process of being enrolled, according to Smith, who says:
"Our intent was not to send the message that this was a job
creation programme". He says the programme is to grow 10-15%. The
military says it does not want the number of volunteers to exceed
100,000, a figure being neared.

The Iraqi government would start paying the guards' salaries
sometime next year. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh on Nov. 26 said:
"It is an Iraqi responsibility, this is the right thing to do, it
is not an American responsibility. And at the same time, the loyalty of
these people should be to Iraq". The American military also wants
the programme to act as a bridge to funnel people into jobs with the
Iraqi police or army. About a third of current enlistees have expressed
interest in doing so, according to Smith, though just 2,000 have so far.

Gulf News on Nov. 30 quoted Maliki's adviser Haider al-Abadi
as saying: "The US will not allow the ongoing Shi'ite
militia's penetration in the Iraqi Army because they realise these
militias are Iranian's striking force inside Iraq in case of any
future American-Iranian conflict in the region". But Gulf News
quoted Monthir al-Alousi, a senior officer in the former Iraqi army, as
saying: "I think losing over 190,000 weapons from the Iraqi
Interior Ministry's stores is solid evidence of Iran's loyal
militias' influence in the Iraqi armed forces".

Two months ago special Iraqi army brigades acquired sophisticated
weapons. The US equipped these brigades because they included trusted
high-ranking Iraqi officers. Gulf News quoted Adel al-Zubaidi, a
strategic analyst, as saying: "The main reason behind delaying the
Iraqi forces armament is that the US fear military equipment may be
handed over to Shi'ite militia loyal to Iran".

US reservations to supply weapons to the Iraqi Army caused a
security problem on the ground. Armed Islamic groups, particularly
al-Qaeda, took advantage to extend its power in Iraqi cities and
neighbourhoods. Gulf News quoted Ayad al-Hamadani, professor of military
science at al-Bakr University in Saddam's era, as saying:
"Americans decided to set up and support a Sunni awakening force to
confront al-Qaeda's growing influence. For decision-makers in the
White House and the Pentagon, these forces will be the safety valve to
counter Iran's influence in the Iraqi armed forces. I am certain
the Sunni awakening forces will evolve in the future... Maliki and other
Shi'ite political leaders are aware of this and are preparing to
merge more Shi'ite militia elements in the Iraqi army and security
forces; this move is in reply to America's decision to include
Sunni armed men of the awakening forces". It quoted Aziz al-Rawi,
an activist in the Sunni al-Ameria neighbourhood awakening force, as
saying: "We will join the Iraqi Army so it remains loyal to Iraq
and we will not allow elements loyal to Iran to stay in the army. I call
this conflict an Iranian-Arab conflict not Iranian-American".

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